The , 2026, conclusion of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics marked not just the end of a thrilling competition, but a significant milestone in sports broadcasting. Viewership and streaming numbers soared across multiple platforms, demonstrating a continued surge in interest following the success of the Paris Summer Games in . NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and the BBC all reported record-breaking digital engagement, signaling a potential shift in how fans consume the Olympic Games.
NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Milan-Cortina Games averaged 23.5 million viewers across its linear network, Peacock streaming service, and Versant’s cable networks, combining afternoon and primetime broadcasts. This represents a substantial increase – a 96% jump – compared to the 12 million average viewers for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The Games proved to be the most-watched Winter Olympics since Sochi in . Notably, all 15 days of competition attracted over 20 million viewers, a testament to the sustained appeal of the event.
The digital performance was particularly striking. Peacock achieved its biggest month ever, with a staggering 16.7 billion minutes of action streamed – more than double the total streaming minutes from all previous Winter Olympics combined (6.9 billion minutes). NBCUniversal’s Olympic content on social media channels generated 4.28 billion impressions, a 437% increase from Beijing. The U.S. Vs. Canada women’s ice hockey gold medal game on USA Network and Peacock averaged 5.3 million viewers, peaking at 7.7 million during overtime, becoming the most-watched women’s hockey game on record.
WBD also experienced significant growth across Europe. Streaming viewership on HBO Max and Discovery+ increased by 234% compared to Beijing 2022. Total viewing hours doubled, with triple-digit growth observed in key markets like France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The number of streaming subscribers watching Olympic content surpassed Beijing’s figures after just three days of competition. Linear viewership on Eurosport and TNT Sports saw a 3% increase, with viewing hours up by 50%.
The BBC mirrored this success in the United Kingdom, accumulating 26.3 million television viewers and setting new digital streaming records. The men’s curling gold medal match between Great Britain and Canada on peaked at 5.5 million viewers. The BBC also reported a record 83 million streams and over 44 million total streamed hours across BBC iPlayer and its website and app, a significant improvement over the 31.4 million streams and 26 million television viewers from Beijing. YouTube views increased by 390% to 8.8 million, with a total watch time of 590,000 hours. BBC digital platforms attracted 16.3 million unique visitors.
Italy’s state broadcaster, Rai, also enjoyed a record-breaking Olympics, with two-thirds of the Italian population tuning in to its coverage. The closing ceremony averaged 6.23 million viewers, and the platform achieved 29 million streams across the two weeks. France Télévisions, preparing to host the Winter Olympics in the French Alps in , recorded a total viewership of 50 million, while ARD and ZDF in Germany reached 39.9 million viewers.
The success of Milan-Cortina comes on the heels of a new six-year European broadcast deal between WBD and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the IOC. This agreement designates public service broadcasters as direct partners, rather than sub-licensees, potentially contributing to the increased reach and engagement observed during these Games.
Beyond the Olympics, other sporting events are also demonstrating strong viewership numbers. The NBA All-Star Game averaged 8.8 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo, an 87% increase from the previous year. TNT Sports averaged 876,000 viewers for Brighton’s FA Cup win over Manchester United, exceeding viewership for any Premier League match it has broadcast this season. The opening day of cricket’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup on JioHotstar and the Star Sports Network drew a record 14.7 billion minutes of consumption, the most ever for an opening day of an International Cricket Council (ICC) event. NASCAR’s Daytona 500 averaged 7.49 million viewers on Fox. League One Volleyball (LOVB) is averaging 145,000 viewers for its ‘Game of the Week’ broadcast on USA Network, a 55% increase over its full-season average last year. The TGL, however, has seen a slight dip in viewership, averaging 508,000 viewers across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 for its first eight matches, down from 643,000 at the same point last year.
As the sports media landscape continues to evolve with the proliferation of platforms and potential plateauing of media rights deals, the numbers from Milan-Cortina offer valuable insights into audience behavior and the enduring appeal of live, global sporting events.
